THE BALLOT BOX. One or two correspondents, with an eye to the approaching elections, have ad dressed us with reference to the insecurity of the ballot - boxes: The point chiefly insisted on is the absence of an official seal for securing the boxes after the poll ing is over, and until they reach the hands of the Returning Officer for the Province. One correspondent states that having been engaged at a country polling booth, watching the interests of a particular candidate, he was surprised to see the local Re turning Officer — after locking the box and applying the sealing wax — take a shilling out of his pocket and use it as a seal. Of course— -despite the red rust — a shilling is not such an uncommon coin but that many persons may have one, and, there fore, any individual in charge of the box with a shilling in his pocket and a bit of wax can easily remove and restore the seal. -Neither are the locks of the ballot boxes so intricate as to be proof against the possibility of being ...

OUR WINE TRADE. At the meeting at Woodside Mr. Townsend referred to a subject which has, on several occasions, been ventilated in our columns, namely, the importance of forming a company, or in* some other way establishing a commercial organization for turning to the best account the pro duce of our vineyards. Many thousands of acres are now covered with vines ; the vines, by increasing age, are rapidly aug menting the quantity of grapes produced ; a very considerable amount of capital is invested; the produce of wine gains rapidly upon the demand for local consumption, and the question— - ' What shall we do with our wine,' be comes one of growing urgency. There is now, doubtless, a great quantity of wine consumed in the colony, although the home trade' is very far from havingreached its complete development ; but even when this ultimatum w obtained, we shall need a market beyond our own territorial limits. And now is this market to be secured? As a matter of course we can no more f...

LINES SUGGESTED BY THE FUNERAL OF SIE POMINICK DALY. Oh, Death thou hast the earnest now Of a rich harvest yet to come ; 'Viceroy and Mftred Priest* lie low; Not in the old ancestral tomb, But tenants of a new found home. They peaceful sleep beneath the soil Where rest the weaned sons of tofl. Yet not in haste the reaper, came Trampling the flowerets in his way, ??'.'' But thrust his sickle where the gram7. 1 .' Stands ripened for the harvest day, -?':?.--~i Then swiftly glides with noiseless trea«l,; While wails the requiem for. the dead. Yetfriendly Death bfrtopints the road To immortality andfigetSv*' '- . ? Tavistock-street, Febrj^^oa?' CO . t ? Bish6pgil|p| - ??* '

THE GOVERNMENT AND THE - FARMERS. The Government have given their reply to the various memorialists who have ad dressed them on the subject of seed wheat, but it is by no means a conclusive reply. They neither say they will give relief nor they will not. They simply say that ' no individual case has yet been submitted which would justify them in affording relief. This looks like an invitation to personal appli cants. One thing, however, is clear — deputations will do no good. The Government are not io be moved by general statements such as are made by deputations, for if they were, many sad tales have been told which, we should have thought, would have amply ' justi fied' such 'interference.' We there fore advise our country friends not to. send up any more deputa tions. It is only time wasted, and . travelling expenses thrown away. The Government want to decide each ' indi vidual case ' on its own merits ; and those, therefore, who are reduced to ask relief at the h.^n-~lg of the M...

%rolterri w^^t^jM THE POTA^Oiiii&amp;NT. BY CUTHBEB2!?mi~ioitsiffil!(. F.R.S. Of the origin and prevention of the. potato disease we are at present as little informed as when it first -made its appear ance. My own experience with a variety of dressings applied' long before,' and at the time of planting, have led to very few useful results^ By far the most practical conclusion to, which these experiments have tended is that early planting arid early raising is the best prevention of the disease. In turning to the prize essay of Dr. Lang I find that some Devonshire growers had accidentally arrived at a similar conclusion. This was the case where the potatoes were self-planted. The seed, therefore, had remained in the ground during the winter, and the plants were very wide apart. The effect of this planting at wide intervals has never yet been well examined. On this question Dr. Lang gives the result of two experi ments. He says: — 'The ground, a wheat-stubble, was manured early in...

SHRIVELLED WHEAT, Much discussion has taken place withre ference to the sowing of shrivelled wheat. It has been doubijed whether it retained its germinating power at all — in other words, whether it would spring up if sown. Some have denied that it would, but the majority of witnesses* have maintained that wheat may be much shrivelled and would still grow. The Rust Commission have collected a mass of evidence proving that shrivelled seed will germinate, and does germinate, and that very good crops have— tOs matters of fact — been repeatedly raised from shrivelled seed. This coincides with what we have all along said on the subject. We have quoted from scientific writers and from -ractical farmers in support of the opinion that shrivelled wheat will grow and yield a crop, . but we have never advised the using of the very worst samples of last season's growth. Some of the wheat that we have seen has been so miserably bad that one could scarcely believe the vital germ was in it. Howeve...

? ' ~ ? +~- — r~~ ? : USE OF 'SEWAGE. ??'- The following letter lias appeared in the Times :-r- ,, ; ?; . TO THE EDITOR. - . , - Sir— As you express regretin. the^urse of your very intei^tMg. TOmarks to-day upon the sewage ^questionjthat the results of the recent experiments conducted .by the Metropolis Sewage Company, and, quoted in the 'Report --f ;the Board of Works, are not given more explicitly, you inay, perhaps, be willing -:. to find room forth* following statement of .iSxkit experience during the past summer.; :;'.;, It is not only pii ; %bB~ sand, plot ? at the North Lotidon Outfall that this ex perience has been obtained, They have there, as you appear -46 -he aware, ob tained, great «rdps of ^rass. ;and porous plants of wheat, mangold^piirizel, celeryj and carrots by the use of sewage -poured over about an acre of the Maplin: Sand, which had been brought ^^tifTbv'barffe Isha spread 30 inches deep over a cqntractor'a yard. But » Tjesides this, they.;have since Lady Day, 1...

THE YIELD OF WHEAT. A few days ago the Chief Secretary, when addressing a deputation, referred to the lowest. average yield in the colony, and said the district of Alexandrina showed the lowest average according to iheGovernmentreturhs. Mr.W.M.Craw tora, unairman ol tne Aiexanarina JJis trict Council, has written to the Chief Secretary, stating that he was mistaken in his reference to the particular district which had the lowest yield. He says, referring to the .mistake which he ob served in the Express ;? — . ' You are made to say that Alexan -drina was the. poorest district, and there the return gave 1 bushel 42 lbs. I am certain that you have unintentionally, and from a lapse of memory, mentioned Alexandrina for some other district hav ing no higher average than that men tioned by you. ~ The published average of Alexandrina is 4 bushels 36 lbs per :acre. I am proud to state that, in my opinion, there is not a farmer in the dis trict who would condescend to accept Government assis...

POULTRY WteXAGEifflNT. Let that part of the fowl's house not . under the perch be^ fitted up with laying boxes ;; and; let, the place be - swept and dusted eyery, day. .; ^Oiice a week will be often enough to have the sweepings taken: out. Set, where there is a choice,, the worst layers, and on fewer- eggs in winter than in summer. Set no hens- during June and July,- and perhaps the -latter end of May. August 1st, beginning again setting; on not too many eggs, and go on till September, and the chickens then hatched will be the best . to ;' kill during December, April, or even May, and,.; if not hatched too late, are strong before winter. To persons who wish to have good poultry on their own table all the year round, and at the least coat, Iisay, don't set; hens again till February at soonest ; Ibiit two or three hens should : be sitting by March. 1st on not more than 11 of their own esrcrs. or earcs of the asame size ; keep up a succession then till; May 15th. 'WJien the weather is ...

THE FUNERAL OF OUR LATE GOVERNOR. The wonderful and frequently rapid mutations of human affairs have been strikingly exemplified in . Adelaide within the past few months. Two ceremonials, both unparalleled in the history of the colony, have followed in such quick suc cession as to appear almost identified in point of time. Two pageants — widely different in their origin, but equally national in their scope— have ' made patent to the bodily senses the reality and sincerity of profound public sentiment. It is but as yesterday when South Australia put on the gay attire of festivity, | and rejoiced as she never rejoiced before; and now, with the details of that merry making fresh in recollection, South Australia mourns as she has not mourned before. We never gave to friend or guest such a welcome as was lately accorded to Prince Alfred ; and we have never yet followed to his grave one whose departure moved so many hearts to sorrow as did that of our late beloved and respected Governor. ...

[?] TOM SPRtNG AND THB.PBINOJE BEGENT. iProin JTofe* and Queries.] It is' more than probable that the statement of -3ebnge IV. driving Tom Spring to a fight is . a myth.. The first fight which brought Spring into any prominent notice in the prize-ring was' the battle which came off on Jlickleham Downs on April 1, 1818, with Painter. Spring was then looked upon as .a novice— the .odds being 7 to 4 upon Tainter ; but Spring defeated him. ' Spring's next «SEay was witH Carter, on May I,dl8i9, on Crawley Downs, in which he was again the victor. In a description of the fight and 'itsj attendant circumstances, it is stated 'the amateurs ,preseni wejre of the highest distinction, many, iiobletnen and foreigners of ra'ak being[ ob 4he ground.' ?Tb mention is madelof royalty; aud it'u' scarcely possible, vicious* as the age was at that? period,' that the Prince Begent would even be present at the fight, much less drive down one of the comba tinti. His memory,, has sufficient to answer for, w...

CAPTAIN GA^EIJi'S IMPORTS. Captain CMeTl's reports are now before us. The last l^uihJLustralian explorer lias returned from fain mission, and he has told us what Tie has done and what he recommends. His first report was dispatched front . Port Denison, under date Yth January, and his second is dated Adelaide, 18th February, 1868. We con fess that we find it difficult to characterise these documents in such a way as to do justice to them. Happily, neither of them is very long, bat as specimens of a cemarkable style of writing, uniting the sententiousnes&amp;of Oap'en Guttle with the shetorical swell and unparalleled copious diction of Mr. P. B. Coglin, they deserve a place in the archives of South Australia, to show to carious antiquarian book worms who may come after us that one . at least of our early explorers was familiar with some of the most recondite and -mt-o£-tihe-way words in the English language, and was not ashamed or afraid to use them. Captain Cadell is « man of ver...

ORIGINAL POETRY. A LAMENT AT THE GRAVE OF SIB DOMINICK DALY. As warriors mourn their chieftain, Or tend its leader brave, As patriot mourneth for the king He bears unto a grave ; So mourn we South Australians Bereft of him— outhead — Whose gentle leadership ne'er gave Offence to those he led. Who lived at peace -with all men, Who ruled, our land in love, Who died, amid a people's grief, Who rests in heaven above. Oh, happy, noble, honored chief, Oh' blessed spirit gone, How great art thou when all doth bless, And none thy memory scorn ? Few, few from earth are passing Without the frowns of men ; All seem to love and honor thee— We hear not one condemn. Tes, ? rest in peace ;' so reverently— Down in its last, low bed j While solemn music floats around. We lay the hoary head. We know thy spirit restetb, In harmony and love With those of varied minds below, Now one in heaven above — Where sects and creeds are all unknown, Where error ne'er creeps in ; Earth and her trammels cast away, ...

I iterate*, Science, wto %ti. THE RIVAL STUDENTS. BY JTJXIA GODDASD. „ I was sitting- in one of the deep-arched windows of the vaulted gateway beneath the balcony of the old castle at Heidel berg, when the following story rose to my mind. I cannot tell you 'who told it to me or where it happened, but somehow I connected it with the town that lay out stretched below me, and I have therefore laid my scene at Heidelberg. . . * ? . * *. * , * ? Among the corps-students of Heidelberg there were none wilder or more reckless than the Baron Steinberg and Emmerich von Helmerstadt. Each' seemed as though he would sur pass the other in rash deeds, and though belonging to the same corps, and hitherto; good friends, yet there was a spark in the heart of each ready to burst forth in ri valry when a fitting occasion offered. ' Hitherto nothing had caused the* two men to come into collision; they were insensibly drawn together by a dissimi larity of disposition that, attracted rather than repelled....

SUPREME COURT— CRIMINAL SITTINGS. ';. TCESDAT, FEBRUABY20. ^Before His Honor *the Chief Justice.] . ASSAULTING A POLICE-CONSTABLE. John' Brady, was placed in . the dock charged''' with, assaulting 'Police-constable' Seanlan, at Adelaide, on January 18. The 'prisoner pleaded not gailty, and was undefended. The evidence in this ease was very short *It appeared that on the evening ' in question the:prisorier was seen by Constable Harris/^cauHing- a disturbance in Bundle street, and, on attempting to arrest^ ue Became violentand resisted. Police-constable Scanlan then came to the assistance of Harris, when the prisoner violently assaulted Scanlan, kicking him very .severely several times about the legs and causing 'blood to flow. The prisoner made a statement to the Court, in which he said the whole alfair was got up against him out of spite, and that he had never assaulted the police. His Honor haying briefly snmmodiip,'the Jury, after a':*hort retirement, found the prisoner : guilty. ...

LAW COURTS. SUPREME COURT— IN BANCO. : First Dat op Term. ' .Monday, Feb'ru&amp;by 24. . [Before the Fall Court.] IlNiD JUfiOBS. The fine of £10 Recorded against Richard Hall, of Mount Barker, for non-attendance as a juror at the last Criminal Sittings, was remitted, on a satisfactory explanation being given to the Court.- Lathe case of Ezra Hpllingsworth, of Houghton, who was also fined £10, a retnrn was made by the Sheriff that the person could not be found. Several- cases were mentioned and set down 'for consideration. '.: . . Equity Appeals. Mr. Stow, Q.C.,askedif the Court would fix a day for Equity appeals. The Chief Justice said the Conic would sit on. the first Tuesday In April, and on every Tuesday till next Term, for that purpose, Except Easter Tuesday. Bakco Sittings. :--. ^.. . In answer to a' question, the Chief Justice said the Court would -sit in Banco on Friday ? : Equity Settings. In replyrtq Mr. Stow, His Honor Mr. Justice Gwynne remarked that he -would sit on ...

NORTHERN TERRITORY. TO 1PHM BDITOB. Sii? — I should feel obliged if you can inform me if the Government intend sending out sur vey parties to the Northern Territory at once, or if they are going to act as they have done heretofore— wait until the favorable season is passed. If they latend puttimg the holdew of land orders ia possession, they h*ve no time to spare. * ?--'..'.'? ?iam, Sirv&amp;«., - ^ c^ J&amp;fLANDOWNES. [No doubt the ?^36veniment will take action immediately. The death of His Excellency has of course interfered with the settlement of the question, but we agree with our correspondent that then is bow net a day te be lost. — E».]

BONING INTELLIGENCE. [From the WoMaroe Times.] Thh TSS.kM.AStA.— We held over our report last issue in order that the discoveries we re ferred to last Saturday might be more fully developed. The costeening on Seetion T$o. 2393 is still being carried on. The alluvial soil is about 20 feet deep, which prevents any extent of ground being opened up in the short space of a week. The lode has not yet been cut in any ?f the pits, but r he nature of ground is the same as at sso. l snare — fine dark chocolate clay, with bands of steatite extending down to a bed of iron cement No. 1 shaft is being sunk by six men, and is now down 14 feet below the bottom level. The 22nd-fathom level north is driven in eight fathoms ; on yesterday week an improvement waa discovered and reported, car rying a lode in the end, two feet wide, of grey and yellow ore ; this has continued to improve ; and during the week about six ton's of ore has been broken from this end of twenty per cent produce. The bottom and b...

WALLAROO. [From the Wallaroo Times.} A preliminary meeting of electors took place at the Commercial Hotel, on Thursday, Mr. Restall in the chair. Having read the notice convening the meeting, the Chairman stated that a reply to a requisition had been received from P. B. Coglin, Esq., expressing his willing ness to contest the district The reply was read, and will be found in our advertising eolumns. As there was not a large number of nersons present that evening, he suggested the desirable ness of postponing the meeting, in order that Mr. Coglin's political views and past' legislative conduct might be fairly discussed. Some con versation on the subject having taken pla.ee, it was moved and carried that the meeting be ad journed to Monday evening next, at the same' place. A vote of thanks to the Chairman eon eluded theproceedings. ; About 20 tons of firewood, cut in lengths, were on Wednesday last shipped in the Triumph for Port Adelaide. The export of firewood from Wallaroo is a tra...